


A Little Fall

by mangohaz



Category: Rush (2013)
Genre: 1976 if you know what i mean, Bad Weather, Character Death, M/M, Sad, Uncharacteristic portrayal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-20
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-16 02:54:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7249156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mangohaz/pseuds/mangohaz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The rain can't hurt me now<br/>This rain will wash away what's past<br/>And you will keep me safe<br/>And you will keep me close</p><p>I'll sleep in your embrace at last</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Little Fall

**Author's Note:**

> one day i will let this ship die, today though, is not that day. Sorry for continuing to publish these lmao maybe one day i will write something happy who knows (i know, i wont)

James was out the car like a bat out of hell as he caught sight of the blood red being lapped at by sparkling flames. The rain had began to pour again but it didn’t seem to do anything to kill the flames that crawled around the melting body of the car. James pounced toward the body of the thing only to realise that Niki had already been pulled from the wreckage and was laying beside Merzario who looked more worn out than Niki who just looked tired, like he’d just run the lap instead of driven it. As Merzario spotting James bounding their way he nodded, signaling that he was going to call for an ambulance while James carefully moved himself to sit beside Niki so he no longer had to rest his head on the soggy ground but instead in James’ lap. His jumpsuit was scorched, holes shining through and showing his fireproofs that were just protecting his legs and hips. His head was burning hot in James’ lap. The blaze around the Ferrari had begun to subdue as marshals made their way over, some trying to breach James and Niki as they lay on the damp grass bank by the road but none of them carried medical equipment which left James to growl them off. As if they could care for Niki better than him, a ridiculous notion.

Niki was smiling deliriously up at James as the sun began to shine through the dark clouds that made day look dark as the depths of night, Niki’s hand reached up and grabbed onto James‘ that was hovering over his head as he was too scared to touch the precious object that lay in his lap and hurt him anymore.

Niki pulled the arm down to his shoulder where the searing flames had not reached and spoke with more care than he usually would, “Don’t you fret, My dear James, I don’t feel any pain.” A sob jumped out of James mouth before he realised and Niki quickly did damage control, “A little fall of rain, it could hardly hurt me now.” James felt his heart skip a beat as Niki spoke so gentle, so calm. The rain fell onto both their faces as James looked up wildly for the ambulance he presumed would be coming so soon yet there was no sign of it. His McLaren was parked off the side of the road so that it could make it's way through easily.

James’ face was dripping wet as he stroked down the front of Niki’s chest in an attempt to calm his breathing and keep it regulated so he would not fall into shock before the ambulance made its way to them. The visibility was awful by this point, rain hitting them both like bullets.

James forced himself to chuckle if not for himself then for Niki, “You will live you silly fool, if I could heal your wounds with words of love, I would write you sonnets. I love you, Niki please. You can’t leave me we’re going to have the world.” Niki laughed with him but with it came blood, spluttering out of his mouth as he smiled blinded by the rain up at James.

Niki gripped the hand on his chest now, holding it close in his hand without any burns marking it, “Just hold me James, and let it be. I know you’ll shelter me, comfort me. I will sleep in your embrace at last.” They both thought of all the nights they should have spent together, falling in love without the others knowledge. James took Niki’s need for comfort as a just way for him to torture himself with images of his life ahead that he should be about to have with Niki by his side.

“Think of our home in London, think of the babies we’re going to adopt, think of everything we have worked for. All the years we are going to spend annoying each other. We have so much left to do, I know we don’t have our home anymore but I promise you anywhere with you is home. I’ll make you a new home, Niki,” James’ words were getting mixed with the force of the rain and the chokes of his sobs being held in his throat for too long. He looked up, first to the sky in blind and wild hope, then down to where Clay and Guy were watching the scene in silence, looking ready to begin praying for Niki’s soul to make it safely home. James though, was not so passive.

“Niki. Please.” He was sobbing while Niki continued to smile, eyes closed now to avoid the rains bullet-like drops.

The sirens began to appear in the distance, James’ wasn’t sure if he was hearing things out of pure, bewildering hope or if help was really on the way. Niki was smiling still as James kept a steady pressure on their tightly held hands, taking an occasion to wipe rain off his wounds and kiss his forehead when he got the chance, he wanted to kiss him and wipe away the pain but this wasn’t a fairytale. This was real life and he was watching the love of his life die in his arms.

The ambulance pulled up, the bed rolling out with it as Niki began to whisper up in James’ direction as the bed began to roll him back into the back of the VW van making up a medical vehicle.

“The fall of rain will make the flowers grow. The rain will make the flowers grow.” His mantra followed James the entire way as he crouched by the door of the van, watching the men work and praying silent words to a God that James had always ignored. 

Niki was still repeating his words as he passed, air flowing out of his lungs with unease as he tried to wheeze out the simple words of “The rain will make the flowers grow.” 

James howled as they announced it to the hall, Marlene stalked off immediately, not one to show serious degrees of emotion in front of all those gathered people but James, he didn’t care. He screamed and wailed as nurses tried to comfort him, a big man like himself, a ladies man at that. Sobbing over his supposed rivals death. He should be rejoicing right now, the Championship would definitely be his now, he wouldn’t even have to work. 

He didn’t want to. He didn’t want to move from this very corridor in Germany. What was the point? Niki was lying dead in a room not a meter from him. Life lost all it's purpose, he felt his heart smash and break onto the floor covered in bleach. 

James discovered a few months later that Niki had tried to recite a song from Les Miserables to him as he had died, he realised that Niki had been playing the part of the long suffering young girl, dying in the arms of her unrequited love. God only knows both how and why Niki had known that song off by heart and why he had decided to sing it to James in his final moments but James could never recover the sharp pain of knowing Niki had died believing they were solely rivals, nothing more, nothing less. So from there on in he left posies, carnations, roses, daisies, lilies, every flower that grew, by Niki’s grave everyday, caring for the cold marble, keeping it clean and new. He found that keeping it looking like it was put there yesterday was of great comfort, like the newer it looked the closer Niki was, the newer it was the easier it would be to turn back time. There was nothing more he could bring himself to do without Niki with him, if this was the only way to feel as though he was there with him still, so be it. The rain only made the flowers grow, after all.


End file.
